The Bugle - 8 December 2006
In news this week
Regional NRM group stories
- "Caring for country" handing down generations of wisdom
- Cultural and spiritual site near St. George one of many to be restored
- Lippia management - Dirranbandi information session
- Airborne reconnaissance finds front line
- Future NRM framework released
- International journal publishes science behind 'Back on Track'
- Nominate your young volunteers for 2007 awards
"Caring for country" handing down generations of wisdom
Indigenous men and women from across southern Queensland and northern New South Wales were recently united in a two-day workshop to record their oral histories.
Elder women and men from Roma, St George, Goondiwindi, Boggabilla, Mungindi and Moree attended a two-day oral history workshop in Moree and Boggabilla last week to learn how to record their traditional and cultural stories for audio publication and sharing.
Regional coordinator for the Queensland Murray-Darling Committee Indigenous Program Fiona Wellington said, "The oral history workshop was a huge success, with 37 Indigenous elders actively participating over the two days.
"This workshop was the first of several we have planned for the region."
For more information about future workshops, or to register your interest, please contact Fiona Wellington on 0428 180 600.
This workshop was a joint initiative of the Regional Aboriginal Elder Women's Steering Committee, natural resource management groups Border Rivers-Gwydir CMA and the QMDC, and the Department of Environment (NSW).
Cultural and spiritual site near St George one of many to be restored
The Weengallon Aboriginal Rock Wells, beside the Barwon Highway between Goondiwindi and St George have recently been restored as part of a state-wide management plan.
The project was a joint effort between local traditional owners, the Queensland Murray-Darling Committee and the Department of Main Roads.
Regional coordinator of QMDC's Indigenous Program Fiona Wellington said, "This project has led to the better management of a significant site for Aboriginal people.
"But it has also led to more Aboriginal rock well sites being identified for restoration works and the development of an Aboriginal Rock Well Cultural Resource and Values Management Plan."
The Weengallon Rock Wells traditionally form part of a trail of Aboriginal rock wells extending to northern Queensland.
So far, a further seven sites have been identified as part of the trail, with the next one beside the Moonie Highway, near Moonie, set to commence restoration in March 2007.
For more information, visit the QMDC web site.
Lippia management - Dirranbandi information session
A Lippia management information session will be held in Dirranbandi on 11 December at the Dirranbandi Motor Inn, from 2pm.
The day will include a range of speakers and will provide local landholders, government agencies and industry with information on managing the widespread problem.
Adam Logan, Weeds and Pest Animal Technical Officer with the Queensland Murray-Darling Committee, said "Lippia is a devastating weed of flood country in the upper Murray-Darling Basin.
"It's a significant threat to the environment, causing bank erosion, tree dieback and out-competing native vegetation. It also has major impacts on production."
Speakers at the information session will come from a wide variety of organisations, including researchers, other landholders, and grazing and pasture consultants.
Topics will include the way Lippia spreads, grazing management options, the possibility of future biological control, and case study examples of how landholders have already been managing Lippia.
The session has been organised by QMDC, the Murray-Darling Basin Lippia Working Group and the Border Rivers-Gwydir CMA, and has been funded by Envirofund.
For more information visit the QMDC web site.
Airborne reconnaissance finds front line
Thirteen hours in a Robinson R44 helicopter as left Brett Carlsson very confident that he has mapped all the Parkinsonia south of Windorah and identified the furthest spread of this Central American invader down the Cooper Channels.
Mr Carlsson is the project officer for Desert Channels Queensland's Cross-Catchments Weeds and Feral Animals Initiative and he works with landholders and shire councils on what the community of the region has identified as its greatest land management challenge.
The aerial survey, on 21 and 22 November, located and mapped infestations of Parkinsonia in the braided channels of Cooper Creek and along Kyabra Creek.
"...the R44 has great vision with the doors off and it's a 4-seater which meant we could have two spotters and even take the landowners up for a ride," Mr Carlsson said.
"It always helps to have an extra pair of eyes, even though Parkinsonia is relatively easy to spot; they have long, spindly, light-green leaves, unlike any native plant. They stick out like the proverbials."
Having the landholders along also helps improve their awareness and knowledge of the spread of the weed on their place and is a great way to demonstrate how important survey work is in control and monitoring of weed infestations.
A handheld GPS was used to mark each plant or infestation as a waypoint. This information was then passed to relevant landholders, entered into the DCQ weeds database and the state-wide PestInfo database to provide an accurate picture of weed infestation in the region.
For more information about DCQ and its projects, visit the DCQ web site.
Future NRM framework released
The Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council has released the Framework for Future NRM Programmes.
This framework is based on the common understanding of jurisdictions that:
- Significantly increased public benefits will flow from improved NRM
- Natural systems are interlinked and particular interventions must be assessed in terms of their total impact on these systems
- Specific investments can achieve multiple NRM outcomes
- An adaptive management approach based on continuous learning should continue to underpin the delivery of NRM services
- Future natural resource investment portfolios should reflect the priorities placed on key assets and the threats to them
- Improving the ability of land managers to manage risk and incorporate NRM considerations into their management decisions is essential to successful NRM programs, and a range of approaches should be used to build this capacity
- Providing opportunity and building capacity among Indigenous people to contribute to shared NRM objectives will yield biophysical, cultural and socio-economic dividends and opportunities for collaborative whole-of-government approaches
- There is a need to enhance monitoring and evaluation arrangements to ensure the effectiveness of programme delivery, and measure changes to resource conditions
- An effective approach to NRM entails the application of a wide range of policy and program responses, including capacity-building initiatives, grants, on-ground works and regulation, and is likely to entail an increased emphasis on the use of market-based instruments in the future.
International journal publishes science behind "Back on Track"
The research behind an Environmental Protection Agency project identifying Queensland's most threatened plants and animals has just been published in the international scientific journal Conservation Biology.
"Back on Track" , based on innovative work led by James Cook University scientist Helene Marsh, is breaking new ground for species prioritisation in Australia.
Rather than the traditional single-species prioritisation of focusing on only highly threatened or well-known species, "Back on Track" has been designed to prioritise all species, regardless of their current classification under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992 or Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The article entitled "Optismising allocation of management resources for wildlife" (in the November issue of Conservation Biology) can be downloaded from the Society of Conservation Biology web site. If you would like a hard copy of the article, please contact Paula Peeters.
Look out for "Back on Track" workshops in your region in 2007!
For further information about "Back on Track", contact Sara Williams, project coordinator, on 3225 1295.
Nominate your young volunteers for 2007 awards
Young volunteers now have the opportunity to be recognised for the positive difference they make to Queensland with the establishment of the Queensland Young Volunteer Awards.
Aimed at young volunteers between 12 and 25 years, eight awards, each including a $2500 cash prize, will be presented at a special award ceremony held in Brisbane during National Youth Week in April 2007. The awards include categories for individuals and groups.
Young volunteers should be nominated by a recognised community leader or community organisation.
For more info and to download the application form visit the Department of Communities web site.
Australian Government puts colour back into the coral bleaching problem
The Reef Manager's Guide to Coral Bleaching was launched last week by Senator Ian Campbell, Minister for the Environment and Heritage.
Australia is a recognised world leader in coral reef management, with programs such as the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan to reduce land based water pollutants entering the Reef lagoon and helping ensure the Reef is healthy and resilient to coral bleaching.
"Australia is taking a holistic approach to managing the process of corals losing their colour under stressful environmental conditions," Senator Campbell said.
The new publication provides strategies for managing and responding to the threat of mass coral bleaching. It provides information on current and emerging knowledge on bleaching and the role reef managers can play, through the Reef Plan implementation and Reef zoning plan, in building resilience and helping reefs survive future threats.
The publication also provides reef managers with science-based guidance on ways to support the ability of coral reefs to survive and recover from bleaching by restoring and maintaining coral reef resilience.
"We are at the forefront in developing new initiatives to minimise the impacts of bleaching and are building long-term ways to improve resilience to environmental pressures," Senator Campbell said.
For more information or a copy of the guide visit the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority web site.
Visit the Reef Plan web site to find out more about what you can do to help improve water quality.
First national NRM conference a great success
The first National NRM Conference held on the Gold Coast last month was a great success.
More than 360 delegates attended the conference, which was hosted by the Regional Groups' Collective at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre and supported by the Queensland and Australian Governments.
Attendees reported that the conference was extremely informative and provided a productive networking opportunity, helping to spread ideas and information on how to improve NRM.
The conference highlighted activities of Australia's regional bodies, including 52 case studies of partnerships, planning processes, implementation mechanisms and governance best practice. Many of the Queensland case studies included activities that supported the Reef Plan.
The conference proved an ideal opportunity to demonstrate and promote some of the great work that is being done to protect the Reef through the implementation of the Reef Plan.
The RGC has moved...
The Regional Groups' Collective has moved...to a new web site address.
The new address for all things RGC is www.rgc.org.au. Make sure you update your bookmarks or links from your own web sites.
Get a job in NRM!
Are you interested in working with Queensland's regional natural resource management bodies?
Then head to the Regional Groups' Collective web site where current job opportunities are now available.
Be sure to check back regularly to ensure you don't miss out on the job of a lifetime!
Thought for the week
A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory.
Arthur Golden (from Memoirs of a Geisha)
We welcome your contributions and feedback. If you have any comments or suggestions for The Bugle please contact Paul Rees.
To view past issues of The Bugle visit the regional NRM web site.
The Bugle is a weekly newsletter published by Community Partnerships, the Department of Natural Resources and Water, highlighting regional NRM activities around Queensland.
Last updated 07 December 2006